Cuba, US hold meeting on cybersecurity amid setback in ties

Havana, Jan 13 (IANS) Cuba and the US held a closed-door meeting in Washington to strengthen cybersecurity cooperation as part of limited government contacts since US President Donald Trump set back bilateral relations last year.

According to Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, delegations of both nations on Friday met in the US capital where they “shared views on the importance of cooperation in this area” and agreed to hold future technical meetings on the topic, Xinhua reported.

“This meeting falls within the context of the law enforcement dialogue, which was established by both sides in November 2015,” said a release.

The Cuban delegation was composed of officials and representatives from the Interior Ministry, Foreign Ministry as well as Communications Ministry.

Washington and Havana have reduced their cooperation meetings to a minimum after Trump decided to stop thawing ties between the two nations.

Relations have also been hampered by alleged “attacks” on US diplomats in the island nation which led to the partial closure of the US embassy in Havana and the expulsion of 15 Cuban diplomats in Washington.

Cuba Tuesday said the US allegation was unacceptable and only served to impose an accusation without evidence.